


High and Dry

by love_killed_the_superstar



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, aftermath to winter forecast, because every episode can be a sad pearl episode if you try hard enough
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-08
Updated: 2015-04-08
Packaged: 2018-03-21 23:19:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3707213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/love_killed_the_superstar/pseuds/love_killed_the_superstar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Garnet didn't ask Pearl why she had cried when they had warped the shooting star, effectively wiping out the remaining warps that linked them to gem-controlled planets; deep down she already knew, because she felt it too. It was loneliness. It was isolation. The feeling of being severed from their only connections to other worlds was something they both knew Amethyst could never understand.</p>
<p>(In the aftermath of Winter Forecast, Pearl and Garnet both need some time to think.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	High and Dry

**Author's Note:**

> Definition of 'high and dry': Stranded, without help or hope of recovery.
> 
> i was reading one of those long su conspiracy theories on tumblr and saw a screenshot of the scene where the gems are warping the shooting star to destroy the galaxy warp, when all of a sudden i remembered space race. remember how sad pearl was when thinking about space? she misses it so much, even though she was well aware that she would never be able to return home if she sided with rose in the war. i can't help thinking that, even if they were destroying the galaxy warp in order to protect earth, she would still be extremely heartbroken that she would never have the change to fix the warp pads and explore the stars like she once could. not to mention she was the one most hesitant to warp the shooting star in the first place.
> 
> idk, i got thinking. and then i started listening to high and dry (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKkr29EGc-Y) by radiohead and that was it, i was fucking gone

It was done. It was done, for good this time, completely, utterly done. Irreversible. Absolute.

Pearl sat above the house, perched on the smooth surface of the carved rock that represented her gem in the fusion built around the temple. It was slippery, icy, but she sat anyway. As far as she could see Beach City and its surrounding areas were covered in white, a few flecks of colour indicating street lamps and houses filled with flickering lights, signs of life in an otherwise barren stretch of land blanketed in snow. On the other side of her, the ocean was dark as the night sky, waves breaking, undercurrents churning. The familiar sound of the sea felt bitter, made sharper by the cold salty air.

Everything about Earth felt lonely in this moment.

Amethyst hadn't understood Pearl's hesitance to destroy the Homeworld warp; as far as she was concerned, the Gem Homeworld was dead to them, as they were to it, and that feeling was about as plain and simple as could be. When the star disappeared, Pearl felt her throat close, and she stared at the spot until her eyes blurred. Amethyst had shoved her on the shoulder, perturbed by the lack of cheer at the thought of the Homeworld warp no longer being a problem. Garnet had said nothing. Pearl didn't know what she was thinking, as the hollow emptiness settled in her. Was she sad too? Sentimental? Relieved that Steven and the entirety of Earth was safe?

Pearl had had to excuse herself, before she cried, and now here she was, sitting on her own pearl-shaped stone, watching over the world that she had vowed to always protect. If Rose were still here... well, maybe it would have been a little easier to let go of the thoughts she was having.

 

...

 

“ _Does it make you sad?”_

_Pearl glanced up. Rose Quartz was stood in front of her. For the first time, she didn't look perfect; though her dress was no longer stained with dirt and blood from humans who had fallen at her feet, something in her eyes looked so lost, so haunted and anxious. For once she wasn't a leader – she was a gem, the same as the rest of them, and Pearl knew she was the only person who could ever afford to see Rose in this state._

_Pearl stared down at the fragments of three gems she was holding in her hands. One had been a achroite tourmaline; one had been a topaz; the third was shattered into such tiny pieces it was impossible to tell what it had once been. She shook her head, but the tears fell anyway. She searched Rose's face for answers._

“ _It doesn't. Our fallen comrades knew what the risk was. We all did. This is – this is the way things are now.”_

_Rose Quartz shook her head, kneeling down beside Pearl._

“ _I don't think that's true, you know. I think deep down, it makes you extremely sad.” She put a hand on Pearl's shoulder and squeezed. “It saddens me too, my Pearl. Our friends are dying. We are fighting other gems. Our own kind has turned against us... it's difficult not to be sad. Every gem here has sacrificed so much...”_

“ _Do you miss it?” Pearl blurted out, staring into Rose's eyes. “Even though they have caused us so much pain... do you miss the Homeworld?”_

_Rose Quartz fell silent for a few moments, face sullen. Slowly, she began to nod. “I do,” she said finally, having gathered her thoughts. “I don't appreciate the morals of the Homeworld, or their objectives, but the Homeworld itself was such a beautiful place. If not for the Diamond Authority...”_

“ _I miss it so much,” choked out Pearl. “I never want to return, not without you. But I miss it.”_

_Rose leaned over and pressed her lips to Pearl's gem, the intimacy causing Pearl to grow rigid in Rose's arms._

“ _And that's okay,” whispered Rose, pulling her close. “Missing it is okay. But please remember all we are fighting for. The Homeworld may be beautiful, but so is the Earth. Together, we can help it flourish. I promise.”_

 

...

 

“Pearl?”

Pearl jumped. Garnet, unaffected by Pearl's erratic behaviour, sat down beside her, legs hanging over the edge.

“G-Garnet. What are you doing out here?” Pearl asked, composing herself. “I'm sure Steven will be back any minute now.”

“Greg phoned. He and Steven are staying with the Mahaswarans tonight.”

“O-Oh. I see.”

They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, the snow continuing to fall slowly. The flakes melted as they touched Garnet's skin, because where Pearl was cold Garnet was warm, stronger, better. She knew that the galaxy warp had to be destroyed. She knew it meant leaving behind their last links to the stars.

“You didn't want to destroy the Homeworld warp.” It came out as a statement rather than a question, and Pearl hung her head in shame.

“I'm sorry. I understand we didn't have a choice.”

“It's for Steven, Pearl. For Steven, and for the rest of Earth. If we can't protect the Earth now, the battles we fought all those years ago would have been meaningless. Our allies can't have fallen in vain. For as long as we protect this planet, honouring their sacrifices is our responsibility.”

“I know that,” Pearl said softly, hugging her knees. “Something about it just felt so... absolute. So definite. I've always known we could never go home, but... now there's no possibility of returning, even if we wanted to.”

Garnet slid closer to Pearl. “Do you miss Homeworld, Pearl?”

Pearl stiffened instantly, opening her mouth to defend herself, but promptly shut it. _Did_ she miss Homeworld? A little, maybe, but that pain had faded over thousands of years of living on Earth. Her memories there could no longer be considered happy ones; during the revolt against Homeworld Rose and other gems had pulled Pearl out of the narrow perspective she possessed. Homeworld was corrupted, twisted, evil, insensitive to the feelings of others, uncaring of how many species had been wiped out and planets had been destroyed while incubating more gems. Her memories were no longer hers, instead jaded by facts, by harsh reality and the more prominent memories of Homeworld gems destroying Rose's armies. Yes, without a doubt, she didn't miss it in the slightest.

She lowered her head. “I loathe it.”

Garnet turned away, staring out at the vast stretches of land and the carpet of sea surrounding Beach City.

“Me too,” she agreed, quietly.

Garnet didn't ask Pearl why she had cried when they had warped the shooting star, effectively wiping out the remaining warps that linked them to gem-controlled planets; deep down she already knew, because she felt it too. It was loneliness. It was isolation. The feeling of being severed from their only connections to other worlds was something they both knew Amethyst could never understand.

“We had to do it,” Pearl said finally, although tears were rolling steadily down her face.

“We had to do it,” echoed Garnet, reaching for Pearl's hand in the darkness and squeezing.

Snow continued to fall as night enveloped Beach City.

 

**Author's Note:**

> i know winter forecast was ages ago but this just sort of happened i dont even know why  
> sorry im like, idk ten weeks late to the post-winter forecast party lmao


End file.
